Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland
Government type:
monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth
Capital:
Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital
Administrative divisions:
4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
Independence:
6 September 1968 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 September (1968)
Constitution:
none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973;
a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not
formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for
a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review
Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted
Legal system:
based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and
Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age
Executive branch:
chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November
2003)
cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by
the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed
by the monarch
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the
Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20
appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the
House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55
elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be
held NA October 2008)
election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a
nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local
council of each constituency and for each constituency the three
candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are
narrowed to a single winner by a second round
Judicial branch:
High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed
by the monarch
Political parties and leaders:
political parties are banned by the constitution - the following
are considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement
or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC
[Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or
PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or
SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM,
OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059
telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683
chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane
mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane
telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445
FAX: [268] 404-5959
Flag description:
three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue;
the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large
black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated
with feather tassels, all placed horizontally